I began photography a little over a year ago when I took a course at Rufino del Valle's photography school in Havana, where I live. I did not have a camera but was able to borrow a Canon Powershot.
When my father's friend, Steve Anchell, found out, he gave me a Nikon DSLR and began mentoring me through online critiques, teaching me to go beyond what I saw to what I felt. This was accelerated when I was introduced to Photoshop by another of his students, Verona Fonte.
In the year I have been working with the Nikon and Photoshop, I have been in three shows, and have been warmly welcomed into the Cuban art world. Before that I was training to be a cook at my father's restaurant.
I am proud to have this body of work to submit to the LensCulture Portrait 2020 competition.
